Homemade Lumpia Wrappers

In case I ever get the Jones to roll up a few fatty spring rolls, I almost always have a package of store-bought Lumpia wrappers at the ready, hidden within the depths of my freezer. But after closer inspection, I found the following ingredients listed on the packaging of said wrappers:

"Bleached wheat flour (niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, reduced iron, mononitrate, folic acid), water, salt, glycerin, sorbital".

I have no idea what half of those ingredients are (isn't glycerin in soap?)! But up until very recently, the chemical make-up of spring roll wrappers was of little consequence to me. Store-bought lumpia wrappers could contain Soylent Green (mmm, soylent green) for all I cared; I was content as long as the end product resulted in crunchy and tasty lumpia.

But thanks to the help of Andrea Nguyen's newest cookbook, Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More, I had a spring roll epiphany: Lumpia wrappers can be made from scratch!

Crazy right? Aside from the crepe-like skins of Lumpiang Sariwa (fresh unfried lumpia), I never considered making my own wrappers for fried lumpia. But with Andrea's fantastic cookbook, a few simple ingredients that I already had in my pantry (no glycerine necessary), and a bit of patience, I was able to fashion my own stash of homemade lumpia wrappers--thin skins that, when fried, were just as crisp and golden as their store-bought counterparts.

Believe it or not, handmade spring roll skins.
Yeah, it's kind of a big deal.

To make handmade lumpia skins, a loose dough must first be created from a little bit of flour and some water (and a few other secret ingredients). Although not much goes into the actual dough that comprises handmade lumpia skins, there is a lot to be said about the technique and overall zen-calmness that is necessary to manipulate these few ingredients. To illustrate this point, here's a video of Andrea Nguyen making the spring roll wrappers from her cookbook:

I know, making your own spring roll wrappers looks damn near impossible, right? After I watched that video for the first time, I knew the task before me could be daunting (spoiler alert: the task before me was daunting). But armed with Andrea's video and with the easy-to-follow instructions in the Asian Dumplings cookbook, I was confident I'd soon have my own stack of handmade lumpia wrappers.

Handling my dough.

For me, the most difficult part about making spring roll skins was handling the loose and goopy dough (those are technical terms). I discovered that the gooey blob had a taste for flesh (my hand) and wanted to be everywhere (the counter, the stovetop, my shirt) but in the pan.

But after a few minutes of working the dough in my hand, and after a few failed attempts at "swabbing" my hot skillet with a handful of mess, I eventually got the hang of it all. With each pass of the blob over my nonstick skillet, an amazingly thin skin formed and clung to the hot surface of the pan.

Not a perfect circle, but success nonetheless!

Though things weren't perfectly perfect on my first go-around with spring roll skins, I was still dumbfounded by what took place in my kitchen--before I knew it, right there in front of me on a damp kitchen towel was a glorious stack of handmade spring roll skins. It was magic.

Fillin' skins.

Though the finished skins appeared to be fragile, they proved incredibly resilient when I filled them with my usual lumpia fodder of pork and veggies--with every roll and fold, the wrappers resisted any tears or holes.

In addition to lumpia, I also made some Turon from the epic Asian Dumplings cookbook.

Hot banana napalm in a wrapper.

Turon, a favorite Filipino snack, is lumpia filled with banana and brown sugar. Once fried, the banana softens and the brown sugar caramelizes. My mother usually uses saba bananas or plantains in her turon, but regular bananas work well also.

After finally sitting down and enjoying my crunchy bounty of lumpia and turon, I still couldn't believe that what started as a blob ended up as beautifully golden and crisp spring roll wrappers.

Though I could have made my lumpia skins even thinner this first time around (it's all about temperature control), the wrappers still turned out wonderfully crisp when fried. I know I can do better next time (and there will be a next time!).

Truth be told, making your own spring roll wrappers from scratch can be a bit difficult, at first. But with practice, the exercise of making lumpia skins becomes second nature. Heck, I'd even venture to say that the whole thing gets easier, and fun, and addicting--all thanks to Andrea's wonderful and inspirational cookbook.

For the exact recipe for handmade spring roll wrappers, do pick up a copy of Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More. And for additional help and pointers on making spring roll wrappers, check out Andrea's video again on her helpful website AsianDumplingTips.com.

Besides spring roll wrappers, lumpia, and turon, the Asian Dumplings cookbook also has great Filipino recipes for Empanadas and Siopao--all with handmade doughs. And of course, the book has a variety of excellent recipes for most other Asian dumplings--everything from pot stickers, to soup dumplings, to wontons. I told you it was epic.

Comments

[Tangled Noodle]

This is awesome! Your lumpia and turon look absolutely perfect; forget my textbooks for this semester - I need 'Asian Dumplings'!

I've also relied on store-bought frozen wrappers (although I would draw the line at Soylent Green - it's PEEEEEOOOPPLE!) but would love to impress the family with this (and with siopao, too).

[Caroline]

A wish come true! I was just wondering if I can make wrappers while rolling up lumpia last week. So excited to try this.

[jenn]

That's really awesome. I never figured to make my own lumpia wrappers before. I always get the ready made stuff. Bookmarking this. I actually had some lumpia the other day, too.

[Jikuu]

I would always watch my grandmother make these on a big electric griddle. Scared the crap outta me because it looked too easy to burn oneself. The turon look delicious. Thanks for showing us this, though!

[_ts of [eatingclub] vancouver]

Ooooh, impressive!

[Andrea Nguyen]

Marvin, you make a cookbook author want to SQUEAL with DELIGHT! Thanks so very much for trying out the recipe. Shanghai spring roll wrappers are not hard to make but they just take practice. Lord knows I worked for weeks to get all the right cues down in the recipe and video.

It's one of the advanced recipes in the book so you can officially call yourself a Dumpling Master!

[Joelen]

Awesome job and super impressive!!

[caninecologne]

hey there daddy-o! what a cool post! how do you find the time!?your lumpias and turon came out really well!

i remember back in the day (the 70's), my parents would make their own lumpia wrappers. they had this electic skillet thing and I would help separate the stacks as a kid. that was back when there were hardly any asian food places around, so almost every party-type food that you could order nowadays, was all made by scratch back then.

[beancounter]

thanks for this Marvin...i'll definitely give it a go!

[elaine]

now that i no longer live in an area near my filipino-food cooking relatives nor near any filipino restaurants, i've been forced to learn how to cook filipino food on my own. so i'm loving your blog! definitely adding it to my google reader! :)

[Kate O.]

Turrones are my favorite. Guaranteed to make me fat. In any case, my mom-in-law has her own version. Add a sliver of jackfruit to the saba banana in the wrapper along with a bit of the jackfruit juice from the can. Use the jackfruit juice to help seal it. And she usually rolls the turrones really long and open at the ends. Sprinkle sugar on top either before or after frying - I can't quite remember. SOOOOO GOOOD.

[Lorena]

I'm going to have to pick this book up - I'm vegetarian so it's hard to find Filipino foods (like siapao) that are animal-faceless.

And color me amazed that you found the time to do all this, Marvin!

[Pat]

WARNING: Non-Lumpia Related Comment

are you aware that you can combine some of your The Five Point Pork Exploding Heart Technique for a more fatal attack?

that would be the lechon and sisig.

see, i was wondering last week in SM and saw the infamous Lydia's Lechon in their food court.

with haste i ordered 1/4 kilo of lechon then i saw their lechon sisig.damn.without hesistation i ordered one.and i really enjoyed it.you should try one too.

[diva]

wow, from scratch! looks so delicious :)

[Anh]

This is excellent!!!

[cookienurse]

I remember my mom making her own lumpia wrappers, and it really is an art. You did a great job!!

[wasabi prime]

wow, this looks delicious -- and it's good to have you back to the bloggosphere!

[ladygoat]

Love it! I too never thought wrappers were something I could actually make. I want to try it now!

[Tuty]

Kudos to you Marvin.... I guess after eating freshly fried turon, the only thing that's burnt is your tounge :-)

Your post surely encourages me to try making the lumpia skins.

[Jen Tan]

hello marvin!!!! I think this is awesome! I have always thought lumpia wrappers are made with a runny crepe like batter...never thought it was made from a dough mixture. I am totally inspired to make my own spring roll wrappers. Commercial bought lumpia wrappers (specially the kind we but from out local 'palengke' aren't really that hygienically made ---as I have seen on a TV expose on how it is manufactured here in Manila---yikesss!!! )

will try this soon =)

I love spring rolls(fresh or fried)...I love turon ;P yay!!!

[Erin]

There really is something to be said for homemade. Those are some of the best looking lumpia I've ever seen. Way to go!

[joey]

Bravo to you for making your own lumpia wrappers! You are truly the lumpia king :)

Love love love turon...MMM!

[Pat]

You've come a long way from burnt lumpia, Marvin! My mum always makes crepe-like skins for her Indonesian risoles and it never looked too intimidating so why not lumpia skins right? Gotta try this out too!

[Claudia]

She makes it look kind of easy, but I know it's not. Great post! Now, I want to try doing that fun lumpia wrapper thing too.

[Sandy]

Thanks for the tip about the book; I'm buying it ASAP. I never thought of making the wrappers; it seemed like it would be more work than it's worth.

Congratulations on Baby Lumpia, too. I was pleasantly surprised to find a new post since you must be pretty busy (and sleep-deprived) with the little guy.

[Mila]

Just thinking here - assuming your frying pan could be turned over and you could use the underside of the pan to cook your dough, it might make it easier to get the wrappers flat, round and ready for action that way. Or you could use a flat griddle. Like a crepe pan.
It's great to know that making wrappers can be done at home.

[nobe]

come to think of it, i never ever tasted any kind of lumpia that satisfies me to an A.

love,
nobe

www.deariago.com
www.iamnobe.wordpress.com

[Burnt Lumpia]

Hi Tangled Noodle. Making your own wrappers would definitely impress the family. I also want to get to the siopao recipe soon.

It's definitely worth the effort, Caroline!

Thanks Jenn.

An electric griddle sounds like it might be easier, actually, Jikuu. I might give that a try for the next time.

Thanks TS.

Thanks so much, Andrea! Though I don't think I'm quite a Dumpling Master just yet. Let me work my way through more of your recipes!

Thanks Joelen.

Hey caninecologne. No one has called me daddy-o before, I think I kinda like it;) And believe me, there's barely any time for anything anymore!

You're welcome, beancounter. It's definitely worth it.

Thanks elaine. I hope you continue to visit and read.

Great tips on using the jackfruit juice, Kate! I don't usually like jackfruit in my turon, but I'll give them another try just to use the juice for sealer!

Thanks Lorena! I'll have to work on a veggie recipe for you and your ilk!

Lechon sisig does indeed sound killer, Pat. Thanks for visiting!

It definitely is delicious, diva. From scratch is always more tasty!

Thanks, Anh.

Thanks cookienurse!

Good to be back, wasabi prime.

Give it a go, ladygoat. It's not as difficult as it looks.

I'm glad I could encourage you, Tuty. Just be sure to blow on the turon so as to not burn your tongue.

Hi Jen. Lumpiang sariwa wrappers are indeed like crepes, but not the wrappers for fried versions. And I'm glad I didn't see that expose you are talking about, yikes indeed!

Thanks Erin!

Thanks Joey! Though I'm no king. Jester perhaps, but not a king.

Thanks Pat. I had to try really hard not to burn any though;)

Hi Claudia. It actually gets easier after some practice. You should give it a try.

Thanks Sandy, the book is fabulous! And making the wrappers is not that much work, just a little patience and practice is needed.

I agree with your crepe pan idea, Mila. But I'm not sure about turning over my frying pan--it's all cruddy on the bottom and far from perfectly smooth. But a crepe pan would definitely make things easier.

Thanks Nobe.

[Rasa Malaysia]

Marvin - I love watching the popiah man making the popiah skin back home in Penang, Malaysia. Your video reminds me of them. You're brilliant!

[veron]

These look fantastic!! Lumpia from back home never looked this good. Hurray for homemade wrappers!

[baby]

pwede bang pakipost ang recipe para sa lumpia wrapper

[rita]

what luck! hubby is in the States right now for a 2-week class. i can ask him to get me the book. not easy to find wrappers here in germany that will not cost me an arm and a leg.

your lumpias are making me hungry.

[Sarah]

today just tried to make the Moroccan version of lumpia called warka. First time I tried this method it was a catastrophe. Second time I used a method I learned from Paula Wolfert- painting the warka/lumpia on the pan, pretty neat. Great video, looks so easy

[abby jenkins boal]

never thought about making those from scratch and out family motto is "always take the long way to a great meal"

well down to the shore to collect and dry some salt water for dinner ;^D thanks!